Micael Widell

My 8 Best Tips for Flower Photography

Freehand flower photography out in nature (or your local neighbourhood) is one of my favorite photography genres. In this article, and in the accompanying video, I will give you my 8 best tips for flower photography in the wild. 1. Use a fast and

Top 10 Most Cliché Landscape Photos

Some landscape photography scenes seem to be so popular among photographers, that they have become clichés. You can recognize such a location when you get there, by all the tripods, photographers and cameras present at all hours, and in all weathers. But you will

Fixing the Bad Grip of Sony A7 and A9

Sony's A7/A9 series of mirrorless cameras have a bad reputation for their grip ergonomics. And rightly so. I love my Sony A7III and it is still the best camera on the market for my particular needs, but the grip just isn't anywhere near

Full Frame vs Micro Four Thirds in Macro Photography

When I do macro photography, I do it mostly freehand, outdoors, and when possible, in natural light. I love my Sony A7 and the abundance of affordable macro lenses available for it via adapters. But one thing that I often struggle with, and sometimes

Water Drop Macro Photography

As a lover of macro photography, I have spent a lot of time looking at macro photos on sites like 500px, Instagram and Flickr. And I have noticed that there are a few key ingredients that often work especially well in macro photos. One

photography

6 Must-Have Camera Accessories

There seems to be many beginners in photography, who enthusiastically buy a mirrorless or DSLR-camera, use it intensively for two weeks, and then never touch it again. Yet some people manage to truly make photography into a passion from the very start, and they

photography

Why You Need a 135mm f2 Lens

Image quality, weight and value for money. We have come to accept that most lenses are strong in only one or two of these three factors, that I personally focus

The $80 DSLR kit

Cameras and lenses are expensive. Really expensive. Even the cheapest entry-level DSLR kit today costs $500 and upwards. But what if you would buy the cheapest possible used DSLR? A

photography

How to add Metadata for Manual Lenses in Lightroom

As my love for photography has increased over time, so has my love for manual focus lenses. Lenses such as the Samyang 135mm f2 provide unsurpassed sharpness and image quality,

photography

10 Macro Photography Tips for Beginners

1. Lens There are several good lens options for macro photography. You could use extension tubes combined with a normal lens, which gives you some magnification. Or even better, you

photography

The 7 Commandments for Great Photo Walks

In the last year, I’ve walked probably more than 2000 miles with my camera. I love photo walks, because they are so meditative. There is also great excitement when

micael

How to Escape the Cubicle

My second book is now available for pre-order: How to be a FOOL: Quit Your Job. Start a Company. Without Fear. It is a short, succinct book about finding the

happiness

How to Regain Inspiration, Energy and Happiness

Over the last week or so, I found myself more and more unhappy and frustrated with life. I gradually felt less inspired to work, and the more I pushed myself

stories

The Stories That Rule Your Life

Recently I've become interested in stories. There are a few different kinds of stories, but what they all have in common is that they control the lives of humans. There

happiness

How to Enter an Inevitable Road to Happiness

I am now going to give you three statements. They are results of psychological experiments. I am then going to explain how the underlying principle can be used to unlock

psychology

The Behavioral Butterfly Effect

If a butterfly flaps its wings somewhere in Africa, that’s a small event. But the wing flap could be enough to slightly alter a wind, which in turn could

happiness

Weekends: The Happiest Days of Our Lives

These days, I’m doing a lot of writing. I write six days a week, a minimum of six pages a day, on my second book. I also spend a

happiness

The Elder Heuristic

When getting into something new, whether it be a sport, a job, or a whole career, I always use a rule of thumb I call the elder heuristic. I identify

social media

How I Replaced Social Media Addiction with Productivity

Are you suffering from social media addiction? Or just procrastination in general? Do you have trouble being productive when working by yourself? Then this guide is for you. I wrote

happiness

Who will remember you in 100 years?

I was out walking in the Stockholm forest cemetery a few days ago. I often take an hourlong walk in the middle of the day to clear my head a

journaling

How to not fail at daily journaling

Today I want to share a small tactic that makes it very easy to carry out the habit of daily journaling. The benefits of daily journaling are manifold. One example

happiness

Sacrificing happiness for status

Note: This post appeared in a previous newsletter of mine, but has not been published online before today. Yesterday I listened to a Swedish podcast documentary about the "satanist

happiness

4 practical tips to enjoy more silence

Whenever I go visit my mother who lives far out on the countryside, I feel very calm. I remember that I've always felt this way when returning there, ever since

happiness

How happy are retired people?

The short answer is; happier than you and me. Retirement improves both health and life satisfaction. At least according to this American study from 2014 by researchers at Utah State

happiness

Walk yourself happy

When was the last time you took a long, brisk walk? A long, brisk walk in a tempo that was high enough to raise your pulse and make you sweaty?